A fire that broke out last evening at 6.30 at the long-established Fairway Panel Beaters at South Terrace, Fremantle has done substantial damage to the building. Local residents had to be evacuated because of toxic fumes and asbestos fears.

The business has been owned by brothers Brian and Robert Richardson for 46 years, so it is quite a shock to the family.

Workers turned up this morning not knowing if they still had a job, but the general sentiment was that it is great no one was hurt and the business can be rebuilt. I wish them well!

That was a rather interesting fire emergency test at the new MSC building in Cliff Street this morning, when men shot huge sprays of water in the air from the roof of the building, and the strong wind blowing it all over High Street and inside Chalkys cafe. Lucky no one sat at the outside tables or they would have got drenched.

Barista Keith yelled out to them to stop it and they finally did, after a few pedestrians got a good soaking.

I believe it was very inconsiderate and lazy as they could have alerted the cafe and stopped pedestrian traffic during the test. I hope no one at No 1 Little High Street left their windows or balcony doors open.

A report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has found that Fremantle Ports did not have adequate assessment procedures in place to deal with adverse weather conditions that could likely be expected to occur.

The report came after an investigation into the August 17, 2014 accident when two ships broke their moorings in a severe thunderstorm, with one hitting the old railway bridge.

The 190-metre-long RoRo vehicle vessel Grand Pioneer and the 140-metre-long cargo ship AAL Fremantle came lose and the AAL Fremantle hit the bridge and the fuel tanker Parmelia 1.

The report said it was likely that ramp of the RoRo vessel had hit the bollard to which the stern lines were attached and it ripped off.

Additional safety measures and fenders have since been placed around the railway and traffic bridges to prevent vessels hitting them.

A fire that has been burning near Bibra Lake in the suburb of Coolbellup in Cockburn has been upgraded again at midday as lives and homes are at risk according to FESA.

The fire started at 6 am at Pioneer Park near Progress Drive and is believed to have been deliberately lit.

The students of the nearby Waldorf School had to seek shelter inside the school when the fire broke containment lines mid morning.

I just came back from there and there are a lot of very worried people in the area watching the helicopters and fixed-wing planes dumping water on the fires not far from there homes. There was a strong breeze and that is not helpful.

A bushfire WATCH AND ACT has been issued for people in an area bounded by North Lake Road, Forrest Road, Coolbellup Avenue and Cordelia Avenue in the southern part of Coolbellup in the City of Cockburn.

It appears there is a pattern here as locals say there are now regular fires in the area that appear to be deliberately lit, so is someone making a stupid political statement or are these just morons who like to see beautiful nature go up in smoke while threatening the homes of people?

The Watercolour Society of WA is trying to help the people in Yarloop and Waroona who where affected by the recent giant bush fires and will be holding an art auction at the Italian Club in Fremantle on Thursday February 4 at 6.30 pm.

Auctioneer will be well-known motor mouth Bob Maumill from 6 PR, so come and support the good cause and by a few artworks.

It is fantastic to see that ticket holders, events organisers Sunset Events, and food stall operators are trying to support the bushfire victims down south after the cancellation of SOUTHBOUND. This message below came through on Facebook and well done to everyone to show your support and empathy and realise that the cancellation of a music festival is nothing compared to the loss of homes, livestock, etc!

“We’ve been overwhelmed with the support shown over the last 11 hours since our announcement that Southbound 2016 has had to be cancelled due to high fire risk within the area. We’ve had a lot of feedback regarding patrons wanting to donate both part or their entire ticket refund to those affected by the fire. We are currently working to set up a system where this can be facilitated. We have excess food on site which we will be offering to those who are both working to fight the fires and affected and currently working with the relevant parties to make this happen. We’ll keep you updated as we work on both of these initiatives. We are gutted but trying to turn our disappointment in not being able to deliver Southbound to you into a positive thing for those affected by the fires.”

This Facebook message from Sunset Events came just through, so please pass it on. SOUTHBOUND 2016 IS CANCELLED DUE TO THE BUSH FIRES.

URGENT: SOUTHBOUND 2016 CANCELLED

It is with great regret that we have to announce the cancellation of Southbound 2016, due to the fire situation in the festivals surrounding areas. After ongoing communications and information provided from the West Australian Police, Main Roads Department and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, we have no option but to cancel this year’s event. We cannot compromise patron safety and proceed knowing people’s lives are at risk getting to the event.

The only alternate route given both main highways are closed is now compromised. The alternative access to the event communicated earlier today is now only open for essential travel. As of news recently to hand festival patrons are now not able to use this road leaving us with no access to the festival site.

First and foremost our thoughts are with our local community of the South West, in what has been a challenging day, with more challenges to come. We give all our love and support to our local family in this intense time of stress.

The fire, which started Wednesday afternoon and reached emergency status during the night and into Thursday morning, has left us with no time to relocate prior to gates opening tomorrow.

“Everyone on site is absolutely devastated as we were working so hard to bring the best Southbound yet. Please understand at this time we will be extremely busy dealing with the cancellation and our thoughts are with those in danger due to the nearby fire.” David Chitty, Director.

Information regarding ticket refunds will be released on Wednesday 13th January. Please rest assured Southbound patrons will receive a full refund on tickets purchased via official channels. Please sit tight at this time until further information is made available on Wednesday.

A large fire broke out at the property of Liberal party politician Matthew Hanssen this morning on the corner of Central Avenue and South Street in Beaconsfield. The building contains Mr Hanssen’s home, the Hanssen computer business and the Zedz fish&chips shop.

Matthew told me he had no idea how the blaze started but that the property is insured.

It is not a very good start of the year for Matthew Hanssen who stood for federal parliament against Melissa Parke and for state parliament against Simone McGurk. He also contested the Mayor of Fremantle election two years ago.

I feel very sorry for Matthew and the business operators as this is one of the worst starts of the year imaginable.